Mr. PM, Where does the Buck Stop?

U.S. president Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk with an inscription “The Buck Stops Here” on his desk. That was meant to indicate that he didn't 'pass the buck' to anyone else and accepted personal responsibility for the way the country was governed. Since then, this simple statement has become the tenet (which is indicative of “Courage” and “Integrity”) by which all the US presidents have tried to lead. Now that is the stuff leaders are made of. Compared to a giant like Truman, our PM, Manmohan Singh, came up really short. In the last interview with handpicked TV reporters, Singh blamed every problem facing his administration on everyone else but himself. He was seen by the entire nation, giving out excuses and mouthing platitudes while blaming the media for exposing the scams. Blaming the messenger for the message, Mr. PM? How very un-Truman like can you get?
That performance has left everyone seething with anger. They saw a man for who he really is rather than the image that has been carefully cultivated by expert Congress media mavens. Since then, better people than I, have written a lot on the topic but I would still like to raise a couple of points.
On Raja’s reappointment in 2009 as the Telecom Minister in spite of all the allegations against him, he conveniently passed the buck on DMK. He said, ”In a coalition government, you can suggest your preferences but you have to go by what the leader of that particular coalition party ultimately insists”.

There are two points here. Firstly, he is not the only PM to have led a coalition government. Atalji led a very successful government of that kind. Secondly, who will he blame for the CWG and the Adarsh Society scams which were headed by his own Congress party ministers? What about the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) that had his direct involvement and the S-Band, ISRO deal involving a department directly under his office? What about the recent 50,000 crore plus scam in the NE India, which is entirely led by Congress leaders (one those leaders has used abusive language for the anti corruption, non-political Hindu leader, Baba Ramdev). What coalition Dharma was he following?

Not only does all this raise strong doubts about his Mr. Clean, but also his image as this brilliant economist PM (as exposed by his non-answers to the two questions raised by Aaj Tak editor, Arun Purie and CNN IBN, Editor Rajdeep Sardesai)
Even a layman would smell a rat and know that Raja arranged the sale of the 2G spectrum licenses below their market value when Swan Telecom and Unitech Group (a real estate company) sold 45% and 60% of their stake at huge profits immediately after buying the licenses.
But when Aaj Tak Editor, Arun Purie commented that the “sale of spectrum 2 companies even before roll out, a scam was staring everybody in the face?” here is what a Cambridge and Oxford educated economist said “Now subsequent events have shown that companies sold their equity but I was told that they had not sold it to shareholders. They have sold it in a manner to dilute the equity of the promoters. Now if they have to roll out they require money, and that money can be raised either by way of borrowings, or by way of diluting equity by getting in more people. Therefore at that stage I did not think that I should intervene in that affair”.
Mr. PM’s response to CNN IBN, Rajdeep Sardesai’s question “where do you stand on telecom Minister Kapil Sibal’s statement of zero revenue loss on 2G spectrum scam was even more pathetic when he compared the CAG estimated loss to food and fertilizer subsidies and said: “There are various estimates, but you have to assess what is the right magnitude after asking yourself what was the right price. Now, I have explained to you that the then existing policy of the Government was that auctions should not take place.
And if auctions are not taking place then what is the basis for you to calculate a loss. I am not in a position to say that there is a foolproof method in which one can determine the extent of the loss. It is very much a function of what is your starting point. And also depends upon our opinion we have a budget which gives subsidy for food, 80,000 crores per annum, some people may say these food grains should be sold at market place.
Will we say then because they are not sold at market prices, because you are giving them a subsidy, it is a loss of 80,000 crores. We give subsidy to fertilizers which cost about 60,000 crores every year people can say that these fertilizers should be priced at the market rate, would you then say that there is a loss of revenue of 60,000 crores in fertilizers sale. We subsidize the price of kerosene to an extent which is greater than many other subsidies, that imposes burden on our oil marketing companies, should we say then that because we give subsidy for kerosene sales under public distribution, that there is loss of revenue. “
Mr. PM, this is the first time we had the opportunity to hear you speak on these mega scams and other problems facing the nation. What we got to hear were excuses, which made your inability to effectively govern and prevent corruption, evident. It is too much to expect someone like Harry Truman as our PM. However we will still settle for someone who can steer this unfortunate nation of ours in the right direction or at least tries to do so even if it is in vain.

'India isn't a scam-driven country'
Rediff.com presents the preliminary transcript of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's interaction with editors of the electronic media held in New Delhi on Wednesday, where he discussed a number of burning issues.
The article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-what-pm-told-editors-india-isnt-a-scam-driven-country/20110216.htm

Scams, not the media, have damaged India's image, Mr Prime Minister
No, Mr. Prime Minister, that is not on. Your exhorting the media to dwell on positives and shun negative stories is good only on paper. In reality, it is only a free licence for the looters to plunder us even more. And if the media had indeed not exposed these scams, the country would never have known the reality behind the Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum, Adarsh Society, the appointment of the CVC, or the latest, the deal between the department of space and a tainted company for satellite bandwidth.
The article can be read at: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/randomaccess/entry/scams-not-the-media-have-damaged-india-s-image-mr-prime-minister

O! What A Fall Was There, My Countrymen
These stories—whether correct wholly or only partly— have brought out one thing loud and clear— the ineptitude and incompetence of your Government, the poor supervision which seems to prevail in many Ministries and offices, including the Prime Minister's Office, and the insensitivity of many senior members of your Cabinet to public concerns over these alleged scams.
Corruption is nothing new, but the magnitude of it as seen since you came to power has been highly disturbing. What is new is the ineptitude, the incompetence and the lack of supervision which seem to prevail since you came to power— the like of which one had not seen under any other Prime Minister of India since we became independent in 1947. B. RAMAN
The article can be read at: http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270523